


Moments in time

by bethygrace



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Could be expanded, F/M, Gen, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-03
Updated: 2014-10-17
Packaged: 2018-01-14 09:55:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1262020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bethygrace/pseuds/bethygrace
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One-shots (or possible multi-chaps) that start as Tumblr prompts about Olicity, Team Arrow, and other Arrow goodness.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. There's no one

**Author's Note:**

> A mission goes wrong and Felicity ends up for a short stay in the hospital. Oliver overhears her tell the doctor she has no one to care for her when the doctor says he’ll release her early to go home as long as she has supervised care.

Looking back, he wished he had sent her home that night.

Dig had asked her several times if she was feeling okay, but it was when her answers become monosyllabic that Oliver’s eyes were drawn to her. She was a bit paler than normal, her normally creamy skin looking a bit grey in the lighting of the office. His lip twisted in momentary concern as she turned down Dig’s offer to grab her some dinner, saying she wasn’t hungry.

His feet were moving towards her before he knew exactly what he would say to her. Things had been…different, strained…between them since Sara joined the team. He hadn’t really noticed, but after Dig drew it to his attention, he was trying to keep an eye on her. Today, she looked genuinely ill. Normally, he would have physically removed her from the office and made sure she went home and rested. Somehow he knew that the distance he sensed between them would make that a bit harder this time.

She must have heard him coming towards her, speaking without looking up from what she was working on, “I need to finish this report and then I’ll meet you guys at the club. I told Dig I wasn’t hungry so don’t wait on me to eat.”

Oliver leaned against her desk, noting the slight flush to her cheeks and tremble to her hands. “Hey, are you feeling okay?”

Her eyes rose then and he frowned at how glassy they were. “Yeah, just tired. Really need to get this done.”

Her clipped response only deepened his concern and he took a step forward, his right hand lifting to her cheek. Something twisted in him as she flinched away from his hand, the response so different from the night she’d been shot, the night she practically melted into his touch.

“You feel a bit warm. Maybe you should head home. Rest.”

With a slight shake of her head, she pushed back from him just enough that his hand dropped back to his side. “I’m good. I’ll see you there in a bit, okay?” She didn’t bother to look up again, focused heavily on the task in front of her. 

With a sigh, he stepped back. Dig had tried. He had tried. This would be one of those times he would have to trust her.

—————- »

As long as he lived, he would never forget the fear that lanced through his heart in that moment.

One second, she was guiding he and Sara towards a warehouse in the Glades; the next, she was screaming in what could only be described as pure agony.

In a heartbeat, he had spun the bike on a dime and revved it, heading back towards the foundry as fast as the engine could tolerate.

“Felicity!!! Felicity, talk to me!!” he yelled, desperately needing to understand. Had they been breeched? Had someone gotten in? He had sent Dig back to the office to grab some paperwork…was she alone? “Felicity?!”

A shallow breath and “-hurts” was all he was able to hear on the other line. White hot fear raced through his veins and he took to the sidewalks, anything to make the distance shorter. “Sara, call Dig. Tell him to get back to the club now. Something’s wrong.”

By the time he made it to the door of the foundry, his heart was pounding. The door swung open and he leaped down the steps, eyes frantically sweeping the room for the threat. He was shocked to find it empty, aside from the petite blonde crumpled on the floor. He was on his knees at her side in a heartbeat, looking her over for a wound that was nowhere to be found.

“Felicity!”

He supported her neck with his hand, sweeping a hand across her clammy cheek, only to feel her raging fever. “Felicity, talk to me! What happened?!”

Her only response was a low moan and a brief fluttering of her eyelids. Her hand was clutching at her side, but he couldn’t any blood.

Suddenly there was a thundering beside him and Dig was there, reaching for her with the same scared expression Oliver was sure he was showing. The older man delicately pressed against her side, drawing back when she let loose a cry of pain that made Oliver cringe and hold her a little closer.

His partner cursed, jumping up and running to the cabinets Felicity had stocked with medical supplies and coming back with a blanket. 

“She needs a hospital, now. Wrap her in this and I’ll get the car. We have to move.”

————— »

“She just came out of surgery and is in recovery right now. You can be in to see her shortly,” the doctor said, giving them a brief nod before turning and walking away.

Oliver released a heavy exhale, noting the burn in his lungs as he did so. The last few hours had been more taxing than he realized.

A hand grasped his and he squeezed in response, letting Sara tug him towards the plastic chairs of the waiting room. Her head found its place on his shoulder as she let out an equally unsteady breath. He watched Dig continue to pace in front of him, arms crossed anxiously across his chest. 

All the close calls. All the almost misses. And the one time she took a bullet for Sara. He had never felt fear like he had tonight. Hearing her cries of pain in the car had been tortuous. Sara hadn’t tried to hide the tears she had shed as she helped him keep her still in the car. Dig hadn’t stopped barking orders the entire time.

What was ironic about it all was that it had nothing to do with the Arrow, or even Queen Consolidated. It had nothing to do with him at all. Her appendix had ruptured. She was here in the hospital, coming out of surgery, because her body had failed her. Not him.

He almost didn’t know how to process it.

The hard warmth of Sara leaning into his side brought him back to the present, causing him to blink away his thoughts as she spoke to Dig. 

“Yeah, she should be fine. It’s a time sensitive thing, that’s why we had to hurry. A lot can go wrong really fast once it ruptures, but the recovery isn’t that bad. She’ll be sore and might be here a few days,” Dig was saying.

Oliver felt himself nod, grateful that this wasn’t going to keep her down for long.

“Smoak?”

Three sets of eyes rose to meet the nurse’s, jumping to their feet as she pointed down the hallway. 

Dig led them into her room, immediately crossing to her bedside. Dropping to press a kiss to her forehead, he let out a shaky exhale.

Sara grabbed her hand and squeezed, looking as relieved as Oliver felt that their IT girl would soon be on the mend. He moved closer to the bed, taking residence at her feet as her eyes flickered open.

“There she is. Hey, how are you feeling?” Dig spoke softly, settling into the chair at her bedside.

She blinked a few more times, focusing slowly on each of them before turning back to Dig and giving him a faint but suspiciously happy smile, “Aspirins.” 

The tension that had been thickening since Oliver heard her cry of pain snapped in half as relieved grins spread across the other faces in the room.

—————- »

They hadn’t stayed long that night, knowing Felicity needed her rest. That and the nurses had kicked them all out, but not before promising to return the next day.

At least that had been the plan. They had ended up taking shifts, coming by to check in on her before she shooed them out, reminding them that they all had lives.

“Sara, the delinquents of Starling need their alcoholic beverages. If you don’t supply them, who will?”

“Dig, I’m fine. These meds are a-maz-ing and honestly I don’t feel a thing, so just go. And tell Lyla I said hi.”

“Oliver, you can’t give Isabel any ammo against you this week. That call is important. Just go.”

After she resorted to her loud voice, they had all listened, making sure that she was well stocked with her tablet and phone, and after making her promise she would call them if she needed anything.

He was stopping by the check in on her before he went to the foundry when he paused in the hallway, her favorite daisies in hand, hearing multiple voices coming from inside her room.

“Your incision is looking good Miss Smoak. I don’t have a problem sending you home tonight so long as you have someone to look after you.”

Oliver peered through the doorway, frowning a bit when he saw Felicity bite her lip and shake her head, “Yeah, no, there’s no one. It’s just me. I’m sure I can handle it though.” 

The doctor responded but his words were drowned out by Felicity’s, set on repeat in his mind.

There’s no one.

There’s no one.

It’s just me.

Something heavy and sad wrapped around his heart and clenched. A wave of hurt hit him first, surprised that she wouldn’t ask him.

But the reminder of how life had changed the last few weeks was sobering. He had Sara now. They were more or less living together in the clock tower. She was on the team and he found himself at her side more often than not. 

Looking at Felicity now, he wracked his brain, trying to pin down the last time he had really talked to her. Not about work or mirakuru. Just to check in. To see how she was doing. A wave of shame followed the hurt when he couldn’t recall anything since he apologized to her in the foundry weeks before, or was it months. Things had exploded since then. Since she told him about his mother’s lies, since he confronted Moira, since Sara “came back to life” and they started their relationship, since Tockman.

“Oliver?”

Her soft, surprised voice shook him from his thoughts. His eyes rose to meet hers, noting that the doctor had left her room at some point and wondering how long he had been standing there, flowers in hand, staring at her. 

“Hey.”

His greeting seemed so insufficient in the wake of his realizations, but he honestly didn’t know what else he could say in that moment. He stepped forward, easing into the chair at her bedside. Placing the vase on her bedside table, he leaned forward, taking in her appearance.

There was more color in her cheeks than before and the haze of heavy medication was gone. With her hair down and without makeup, her natural beauty was on full display and would’ve drawn a smile to his face had he not been drowning in his own thoughts again.

There’s no one.

“You okay? You look worried. Something happen at the office today?” she asked, eyebrows drawn together in concern.

Of course she would pick up on his emotions, she always did. Shame washed over him again, reminding him of how oblivious he had been of her, ever since she told him about his mother.

Desperate to touch her, he grabbed her hand between his and squeezed it.

“Nothing to worry about. How are you feeling? Have they said when you can go home yet?”

He wanted to give her the opportunity. Give her the option of telling him, of asking him. If not him, Diggle. Anyone.

Instead, he watched her worry her lower lip with her teeth before looking just above his eyes while she said, “I’m a little sore but they said that’s expected. Hopefully in a few days.”

His heart sank a bit and the hurt began to morph into a bit of anger. “A few days?”

“Mmhmm.”

Leaning forward, he eyed her closely. The distance that had formed between them grew shorter as he caught her gaze, searching, seeking. He saw new walls, new barriers that hadn’t been there before. She seemed guarded and it unsettled him. 

“I bet if I throw some weight around, we can get you out of here tonight.”

Her eyes widened just a bit, “Oh no, that’s not necessary. I’m sure you have people to fight, arrows to shoot, things to do, people to see. I mean, after all, Starling City doesn’t really have anyone else fighting for it, though the SCPD does try and –“ 

A raised eyebrow and a finger pressed to her lips silenced the ramble. He schooled his features to not show his frustration with her.

“Felicity. Let’s get you home.”

—————- »

“Well, thank you for the ride Oliver. I appreciate it. Will you tell Sara and Dig hi for me? Oh and Roy if you see him?”

He knew she was trying to shoo him out. She had been saying “goodbye” ever since he arrived at her place. He had ignored her while he situated her on the couch, and again when he got her medication out and ready to give to her, and again when he started fixing some toast for her to eat before she took her pills. 

“I’m not leaving, Felicity.”

He had tried to restrain it for hours, but the anger leaked out in his voice at that, and her slight gasp told him she had heard it as well. Dropping the toast unceremoniously onto a plate, he grabbed it and her pills and stalked towards the couch with determination. Her wide-eyed expression morphed into indignation when he picked up the toast and held it at her lips.

“You may have lived on an island but the caveman routine is so not happening here.” 

He practically snarled in response, “Felicity, eat the toast. And take your pills.”

Her eyes narrowed as she took a bite, apparently wanting relief from the pain more than she wanted to maintain her guard. His gaze never left hers, hard and pressing, as she ate the toast and tossed back the medication. Without a word, he took the plate from her and the cup and set them aside before situating the blanket around her legs.

“Oliver, I’m fine. I’ve had my meds and will likely either start rambling about rainbows and kangaroos or pass out soon. You can go. Why are you still here? You can leave.”

He had been preparing a blistering retort, losing patience with her stubbornness when she said the last few words. Suddenly, they were at the rally, her holding back tears, him filled with concern at her behavior. Her admission about her dad shocked him, the fear on her face at the thought of losing him the way she had lost her dad. 

His eyes shot to hers, seeing her guarded expression with knowing eyes. Grabbing her hands, he leaned closer to her, sitting on the edge of the couch so that they were eye to her.

“Felicity, I’m not leaving. You’re not going to lose me.”

The wild look in her eyes was not what he was expecting, nor was the push of her hands against his. She made a sputtering noise as she tried to push herself back on the couch, failing slightly as her incision pulled, inciting a short gasp of pain. Oliver shot forward, steadying her back onto the pillow she was resting against, whispering soothing words as she breathed through the pain. 

“Oliver,” she breathed, eyes still tightly closed. “What are you talking about?”

“I overheard you earlier, talking with your doctor. I heard you saying you had no one to look after you.”

To her credit, she didn’t look away or even seem phased. When she didn’t react, he raised an eyebrow at her.

“It was the truth.”

Before he had a chance to refute that, she continued, “I wasn’t saying I’m alone in the universe, but I don’t have anyone that can stay here with me and make sure I don’t tear my stitches out while I’m sleeping or whatever the heck they would need to do.”

The hurt spread through him again and he regarded her sadly, “You have me, Felicity. Diggle. Sara. Heck, Barry would be here in a heartbeat if he knew you were hurt.”

She scoffed a bit at that and Oliver winced at the sound, “Oliver, you have better things to do than sit around here and make sure I’m okay. You three already spent too much time at the hospital as it is. You have the company to look after, and you have Sara. Dig and Lyla are trying to get things worked out and between our two jobs, he barely has enough time with her as it is. And uh – Barry has Iris to focus on. I could never ask him to leave her and come here, even if he could be here in – well, a flash.”

Her eyes shot down to their joined hands and she stiffened just a bit, “So uh, there’s no one. And that’s okay. It’s nothing new.”

The resigned sadness in her voice hit him harder than he could handle, so he tried to process what she had said, “Wait – who’s Iris? I thought you two were – you know –“

She raised an eyebrow, “Together?” He nodded mutely, still having to restrain a surge of…something whenever he thought of the kid and Felicity dating. “We never were. He woke up and met Iris. She really is great though. Smart, beautiful, and he’s crazy about her.”

He had the sudden urge to hug her as he watched her rattle off the other woman’s qualities. How had he not known? He had assumed the two had picked up where they left off when she had shot off to Central City to see the newly awake Barry. Had she been upset when he came back? A cup of regret poured over him as he realized he hadn’t paid enough attention to see that she was hurting. Unsure what to say, he simply squeezed her hands, hoping she would receive the bit of comfort he was offering. 

As much as he hated it, he understood how she was feeling. The more she had talked that night, the more clear everything became. He had been a class-a jerk the last few weeks to her – not much a partner and even less, her friend. He hadn’t even taken the time to talk to her after the rally, after she had opened up to him, been honest with him when it could’ve cost her his friendship, at least in her mind. To him, that wasn’t even a possibility, but looking back over the distance between them, he couldn’t help but think he had already broken his promise.

Scooting closer, he reached up to brush an errant strand of hair off her forehead. “Felicity, you and I need to talk about some things. A lot’s happened the last few weeks and honestly, I’m not proud of how I’ve been around you. I hadn’t thought about how it’s all impacted you until tonight.” 

She looked away, fidgeting slightly under the softness of his gaze. He let her, knowing that it would take more than a few words to get through the walls she had erected over the last few weeks.

“There’s time for that later. But you need to get something straight right now.” With a knuckle beneath her chin, he gently recaptured her gaze, “You have me. Whether you want me or not, you have me. I’m here. I’m not leaving. And I’m going to take care of you. You can argue all you want. It’s not going to change a thing.”

She held his gaze, eyelids beginning to droop just a bit as her pain medication kicked in. He brushed a thumb over her cheek, knowing he was losing her to the haze of the pills.

“Let’s get you to bed.”

He gently lifted her, cautious of her incision, and carried her to her bed. As he tucked her in, a small hand landed on his forearm, causing him to stop and look down at her. She was nearly asleep, eyes heavy and half-open.

“Thank you.”

Her soft whisper shot straight through him, and for the thousandth time, he was reminded of how remarkable this wonderful woman was, and how lucky he was to have her in his life. Leaning down to press a kiss to her forehead, he decided that he would have to remind her of that the very next day.


	2. Go Team

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arrow Prompt: Felicity and Sarah are being held by Slade as a way of getting revenge on Oliver. They manage an escape attempt and while this is going on, Felicity is hurt. She would just slow Sarah down so Felicity sacrifices herself, telling Sarah to keep going because they would have a better chance against Slade if she (Sarah) was with Oliver, Roy, and Diggle, and that she could be rescued then. Sarah reluctantly leaves and Felicity is recaptured. Please?

"Ollie..”

He spun on a dime, his eyes widening as he took in the sight of a blood-covered Sara, slumping over as she took the stairs gingerly. 

Both he and Dig rushed to her side, one arm around her waist, the other around her shoulders, guiding her to the med bay. Her head was bleeding profusely at the hairline and he could see that her left hand was shattered. She caught him looking at it and didn’t have the energy to give him a smile, “Broken ribs too. And there might be a stab wound somewhere.”

He hissed, hands skimming over her arms as he took in her injuries.

Even as his broken girlfriend groaned in his arms, a sudden weight dropped into his stomach.

"Wait…where’s Felicity?" 

Tears mixed with blood as Sara dipped her head. Oliver’s swore his heart had ceased to beat as she choked back a sob, “I left her behind.”

Something crashed behind him and Roy’s thunderous yell shook the foundry, “YOU WHAT?!” He heard a clash of bodies as he imagined Dig rushing forward to hold Roy back.

Refusing to believe that Sara would betray Felicity or leave her for dead, his eyes stayed fixed on hers, silently waiting for an explanation, all the while tamping down the hot acid burning in his chest. 

"She made me go Oliver. We were trying to get out, to get away, and we were almost clear when they caught up to us.” Another tear fell. “They all had to be injected with the mirakuru. I tried to protect her, but they tossed me around like a doll. She got in their faces and pulled their attention away from me.” Oliver watched her clench her eyes shut in a mix of pain and regret. “She fought back but she was as beat up as I was. She kept screaming for me to run, to get help. I was going to stop them, but next thing I knew, they were gone and so was she.”

Diggle was speaking but Oliver couldn’t hear a thing over the whooshing of blood in his ears. Felicity was still out there, in pain, in the hands of his enemy.

Leaning forward to press a hard kiss to Sara’s forehead, he threw one look to Roy before heading up the stairs, bow in hand.

“Ollie!”

Her voice made him pause, but he couldn’t turn his head. There was only one blonde in his focus in that moment. “She saved me. Please, bring her home.”

————— »

It took two more days.

It had been seven since Slade had taken her and Sara both, two since Sara made her way back to the foundry.

Two days of tearing Starling City upside down before he found them.

He stopped counting the bodies as they dropped. The number was too high for him to think about and too inconsequential for him to worry about.

It was Felicity. There was no choice to make.

Slade’s was the last to fall. He didn’t do it alone, by any stretch. It took him, Dig, and Roy to bring him down to his knees before Oliver had his own vengeance, killing Slade Wilson a second   
time. A part of him wanted to linger, to burn the body instantly, ensure that it would never again house a human heartbeat.

But the knowledge that Felicity was somewhere in the building, alone, in pain, and – he prayed – still breathing, carried him away from the site.

His own injuries became more apparent as he searched feverishly. The broken ribs protested to the way he yelled her name. The stab wound in his thigh protested the speed of his run to find her. The concussion he was sure he had protested the constant movement and singular focus as he opened door after door, screaming her name.

But he pushed through it. It was Felicity. There was no choice to make.

His heart had all but given out from adrenaline when he threw open a door to see a slumped figure lying on the floor in the darkness. Her name caught in his throat as he pushed the door   
further, skidding to his knees at her side.

His blood-stained hands shook as they reached out to touch her pale, ashen face, to brush over her colorless lips, to seek out the pulse at her neck. His heart ceased beating for a moment as he waited for the soft sound that would ensure the world would keep spinning.

Before he could feel it, her eyelids fluttered, the sight jolting through him as she pushed her eyes open, “’ver?”

The breath he had been holding since Sara showed up at the foundry whooshed out of him as he cupped her bruised cheek, frowning at the raging fever he felt there.

“Shh, it’s me. You’re safe now.”

Her eyes slid shut for a moment and the lance of fear struck his heart yet again. He had to get her out of there. A quick glance down her form showed more blood than he ever wanted to see on his partner and filled his veins with another burst of adrenaline. In seconds, he had his hooded jacket off and wrapped around her, lifting her into his arms.

A small hand gripped his t-shirt and he looked down, seeing her eyes opened to half mast, clouded with pain.

“’liver –“ she breathed, wincing as she did. 

“Shh, shh don’t talk now. Just rest. You’re safe,” he soothed, pressing his head against hers in comfort.

Her eyebrows furrowed and she exhaled quickly, pinching the material of his shirt again, “Sar – Sara..she ok?”

Oliver stopped in his tracks, looking down in awe at the broken woman in his arms. Lying there in pain, and only thinking of another. His heart swelled, and despite the seriousness of the moment and the fear he still felt over her condition, he couldn’t help the slight upturn of his lips as he gazed at her, “You saved her, Felicity.”

He watched her eyes fall closed again on a sigh, the hint of a smile curving her lips as she breathed, “Go team.”


	3. Go Team pt. 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Since everyone loved "Go Team" so much, I wanted to post a follow-up from Sara's perspective. I'm considering doing one from each team member's perspective, so let me know what you think of that idea.

So brave.

Brave didn't even begin to cover it.

Try as she might, she couldn't encapsulate the emotions she was feeling into a single word. She had been trying for the last two hours and was still coming up dry.

The moment she heard from Oliver that they had found her and Dig thought they could treat her in the foundry, Sara had been a flurry of activity – prepping medical supplies, finding a set of clothes for her to change into, anything she could do to make her more comfortable.

She didn't even try to hide the tears when she saw her in Oliver's arms. She had given up control over her emotions when it came to Felicity the night she got away, but seeing her there in worse shape than before brought a fresh wave of tears to her eyes. Her hand found Felicity's and didn't let go.

She worked side by side with Dig as they cut away her bloodied clothing and looked her over for injuries, Oliver looking on worriedly as he ignored his own wounds. It panged Sara's heart seeing how much pain she had gone through after Sara had gotten away. Before, it was just bruising around her chin from a right hook, a cut along her hairline, and a heavy hacking cough from the cold room they were in.

Now, she let the tears fall as they bandaged her numerous cuts and rubbed bruise balm over the black-and-blue marbling that seemed to cover the rest of her. She was burning up and her lungs rattled noisily with each breath.

But she was alive.

And she was home.

Wiping away a tear from her eye, she flipped the cold compress on Felicity's forehead to the other side, wiping it down her bruised cheeks. Dig had given her pain meds and antibiotics, just to be safe, and her fever was lower than before, but Sara still couldn't tear herself away.

She saw both Oliver and Dig eyeing them out of the corner of her eye, Oliver's eyes fixed on Felicity's sleeping form as Dig patched him up. Roy had come in at some point, only to take up pacing at the foot of the table Felicity was on.

Looking back down at her friend, the woman who had selflessly saved her life twice now, Sara felt her heart ache.

Even before the island, before the League, before Nyssa – she had never known anyone like Felicity. Anyone who gave of themselves so freely, without condition, and often while sacrificing one's own desires or needs. That was the type of friend she had never expected but always yearned for.

After the island, she expected it even less. To be treated as a human being instead of a killing machine…that was enough.

Not for Felicity Smoak.

From the first time they spoke, Felicity showed her nothing but warmth. Even once she knew more about what Sara had done, nothing changed. If anything, Felicity went the extra mile to be a friend, a confidante, offering her ear, her shoulder, and a movie night if ever needed.

Somehow, while curled up in a blanket wearing fuzzy socks on Felicity's couch catching up on chic flicks from the years she was gone, she didn't feel like the killer she knew she was, she just felt like Sara.

Just Sara.

Regardless of her selfishness, Felicity treated her with respect. Despite the blood on her hands, she didn't eye her as a threat or as a murderer. When Sara and Oliver started their relationship, she didn't lash out. Even when she was feeling excluded, she took a bullet for Sara, pushing her aside and saving her life.

She didn't deserve Felicity Smoak.

But she was grateful to have her anyway.

"How is she?" Oliver's strained voice at her side drew her from her thoughts. Glancing over at her boyfriend, she frowned, seeing the pain and exhaustion in his eyes, surpassed only by the overwhelming concern for the woman on the table next to her.

"She's resting. The medicine seems to be helping with her fever."

He rubbed a rough hand over his face, reaching out with the other to cup Felicity's cheek. "I'm still wondering if we should've just taken her to the hospital."

Sara shook her head sharply, "No, no hospital. She wouldn't want that." Looking down at the petite blonde's resting form, Sara sighed, "She hates hospitals."

She could feel Oliver's curious eyes on her, seeking an explanation that he wouldn't be receiving. It wasn't her story to tell.

Felicity had told Sara about her fear of hospitals at the end of a red wine induced ramble. About the day she broke her arm badly at school as a child and her mother never came for her. About how she laid in her hospital bed alone for hours, scared as any child would be, before the doctor finally called one of her teachers to pick her up.

She had told the story in this nonchalant manner, like it was any other event. But Sara saw the scar underneath the joking tone. She heard the unspoken plea.

And that was why Sara would be there, by her side, when Felicity woke up.

She didn't deserve a friend like Felicity Smoak.


	4. Go Team pt. 3: He Worried

He had witnessed some pretty terrible things in combat. Things that at first had made him want to turn around and go back home. Things that made him question humanity altogether.

But over time, the calluses began to form around his heart, desensitizing him to the sights and sounds and smells of war. He steeled himself against it, learning to stuff the emotion away under lock and key, and simply muscle through.

For the first time since landing on his native soil, Dig couldn't force it back into the box. Every time he tried, it came out stronger, harder, and despite his best efforts, was on display as he reached out a trembling hand to cup her forehead.

"Fever's going down."

The words were said to no one in particular, but he needed to say them. Needed to regain control for a moment, even if it was a false sense of control. For all the medical training he received in combat, never had it been a security blanket wrapped around him like it was now.

The bruising was extensive, and Dig had already imagined how she took each hit. Oh he was sure she fought back, just like he had drilled into her head. But he also knew that she hadn't stood a chance against Slade. He had nearly killed all of them. Thinking of Felicity as the target of his rage, as his own personal punching bag, filled him with a cold, steely rage he hadn't felt towards anyone other than Deadshot.

Deadshot killed his brother.

And Slade nearly killed his sister.

Slumping into the stool he had pulled up to the side of the table, he eyed Felicity's companion. Sara had passed out an hour before, slumped over Felicity's midsection, hand still tightly wrapped around the IT girl's. He had a feeling that a bond had formed between them in their captivity, one that was now cemented in stone, if Sara's bedside vigil was any indication.

A slight smirk crossed his lips and he fondly reached for Felicity's other hand. His blonde hurricane of a friend, with all her babbling and innuendos, had gained the trust and loyalty of a trained assassin.

From him, she had gained a whole lot more.

He saw her. Not just the IT girl and executive assistant that kept them all in check and grounded, but the woman that found her home, her security, her family in their ragtag bunch.

He knew how much this all meant to her. He knew she was more damaged than anyone would ever imagine. That she had faced her own demons. Not so much because she talked about them but because he saw the vulnerable looks that would cross her features after Oliver turned away. He saw the hint of fear in her eyes whenever they would leave for a mission, or the deep-bone sense of relief when they returned safely.

He saw her.

And it only made him want to protect her more. Not because she was fragile. No, she bore an inner strength that rivaled Roy's physical strength. But because she was priceless. Irreplaceable. In Oliver's words, she was remarkable.

Shifting his eyes across the foundry, he spotted the younger man, taking up silent residence in Felicity's chair, elbows on his knees, face in his hands.

The look on Oliver's face when he had run towards them with Felicity in his arms was one Dig would never forget. For once, all the walls and masks were gone and Dig saw the scared boy that still remained inside of Oliver, the vulnerable man that wanted nothing more than to stop losing those he loved. And in that moment, Dig knew he wasn't even trying to deny the feelings he had for the broken woman in his arms.

From his spot in the driver's seat, he had heard Oliver softly whispering to her all the way back to the club. He didn't catch the words but it sounded like Russian. It sounded like a plea, or maybe a prayer.

Dig prayed a few of his own as he and Sara had cleaned her bruised skin, grateful that there were no gaping wounds, no signs of infection. He thanked the god he never believed in for small favors.

Turning his eyes back to her face, he felt his heart twist in his chest.

He had never expected Felicity. He had been concerned when Oliver first welcomed her to the team, worried about her safety. As time passed, he became more worried about her heart. With the addition of Sara to the team, he worried about her perception of herself, and strived to remind her how valuable she was, how important.

He worried.

It's what big brothers do.


	5. Go Team pt. 4: Special

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So after a very long hiatus from writing, I'm jumping back in and trying to update the multi-chapter fics I left unfinished. Starting with this one.
> 
> I doubt I will write from Roy's POV after today, as it's just not coming naturally at all. But I wanted to cover all the bases, so bear with me on this one. Next, we have Oliver!
> 
> So yeah, bear with me while I get back in the groove!

Three steps. Stop. Turn. Four steps. Stop.

With each step, his fists clenched a little tighter, his breath ragged and uncontrolled as he paced. If he stopped to think about it, he wasn't sure who he was really angry at.

Slade for taking her in the first place.

Oliver for getting her into this whole thing.

Sara for leaving her behind.

Her for making him care.

Roy's eyes shot to her pale, bruised face, and then to her guardians, one on each side. It was strange to see her still, quiet. She was crazy, never stopped talking.

It didn't make any sense why the sight of her like this made him sick to his stomach.

They hadn't really talked that much, but she had always been kind to him. Welcoming. She definitely didn't treat him like the street rat he was. She brought a lightness to the group and a dose of humanity that they all needed.

Glancing at her again, he noticed the blanket covering her had shifted, leaving her toes uncovered. Without realizing it, he was at her side, situating the blanket to make sure she was warm, but not without catching a glimpse of bright color on her toes.

His quiet snort drew the attention of the others in the otherwise silent foundry.

"Who paints little yellow birds on her toenails?

The words hung in the air for a moment, weighing heavy, before a sigh cut through the silence, accompanied by a slight smile on Sara's face. Dig just shook his head, a slight smile playing on his own lips, as Oliver dropped his head.

It amazed him that a quirky, genius could bring all their worlds to a stop the way she had. He hadn't been around the team for a long time, but he had the feeling that she had no idea just what she meant to the people - the team - waiting anxiously for her to wake up.

Glancing at her again, he decided that when she woke up, he was going to be her friend.

Because she was clearly something special.


End file.
